Thursday, November 25, 2010

Naturally Inducing Labor FAIL

Yes, I know that babies are on their own schedule and that they will come when they are good and ready. And I definitely know that this little one is on a schedule that no one, not even the OB can figure out. But I have been having really intense contractions on and off for over a week now and even though this pregnancy has been fun and all, I am ready to get on with the VBAC action!

So yesterday at my weekly OB appointment my awesome Doc checked me and determined that not only is Miss M head down and ready to go, but he could sweep my membranes which he did.... (OUCH!). And he really surprised me when he suggested that maybe some castor oil would do the trick in getting these contractions to actually do something besides drive me nuts. Coming from a very cautious OB made me think that this was an AWESOME idea and that there was hope that it would work.... wrong!!

I looked online and tons of midwife and natural birth sites tote the dreaded castor oil as a miracle solution to getting labor going.... I read that I can either mix it with a food like eggs or drink it to make it more palatable....

First of all, that stuff is about as NASTY as it gets!!!!! I decided to mix it with some orange juice and made sure that the brand I got was odorless and tasteless. No one mentioned that the TEXTURE was going to be that of melted wax chunks!

Second of all, the thought of drinking the greasy concoction was enough to make me gag from the get go, and I hadn't even sipped any yet!

So I downed what I could, about 3 tablespoons (YUCK YUCK YUCK!) and went about my business. About 4 hours later it finally hit me and.... that was it. Sigh, yes the contractions started back up, and for a few hours they were intense and about 5 mins apart.... but nothing I couldn't talk through with effort. Double sigh..... I didn't even have to visit the bathroom again, lol.

Now I am trying to decide if I just didn't get enough down or if I am just destined to be preggers forever, lol. Oh, well... and that folks is my tale of the Dreaded Castor Oil!

Hi there! My name is Connie and I created this blog to both educate and raise awareness about birth today in modern America. I am currently pregnant with my 3rd little girl and had to search fervently to find an OB provider who will support my goal of a successful vaginal birth after 2 cesareans or a VBA2C. (Luckily at 22 weeks I found one!)

This blog is a log of that journey in the hopes that maybe my fight will help someone else with theirs!